I Am Iron Man

It’s been pointed out to me that I have a bit of an obsession with vintage cookware. I’ve had a Lodge cast iron skillet for a few years but then it was pointed out to me politely that I wasn’t using it properly. After educating myself about cast iron cookware and how to cook on it and care for it, I’ve kinda gone on a bit of a buying spree lately. I am hooked on cooking with cast iron. The taste of my food is sooo much better with it compared to the no-good-for-ya-chemically-created-evil teflon. I’ve talked a bit on Twitter over the last couple weeks about some of my recent Ebay acquisitions of vintage cast iron skillets. I’ve purchased 3 total. A small one (Griswold #3 sized circa 1930), a medium/large one (Griswold “Erie” #8 size circa 1890) and an oval shaped griddle/skillet pan (Wagner Ware circa 1940). SIZE CHART All 3 were in varied conditions. The Wagner came seasoned and ready to use. The #3 has been meticulously restored and initially seasoned but needs to build up more. The #8 came as a project needing lots of work. It needed to be be cleaned, rust removed, and then re-seasoned. I’m now working on building up a good non-stick surface by cooking mucho bacon in it.

Here’s a look at what I’ve purchased recently.

Wagner oval griddle:

Griswold #3:

Griswold ‘Erie’ #8 (as it arrived):

After cleaning and restoration: (the flash is reflecting bottom left)

My collection proudly on display in the kitchen:

As a special treat I will now show that neither Anthony Bourdain nor Giada De Laurentiis or any other cool TV cooks are in any danger of losing their jobs to me any time soon with the debut of my first ever ROC Coupons Vlog (video blog): It’s called Cooking With Cast Iron. Sorry it looks like it was shot by the film crew from The Blair Witch Project.

Thank you, Roc. That blog was amazing too! I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for cast iron and I’m going to search for my grandma’s old skillet. I remember frying pork chops in it on her woodstove. We also have a cast iron dutch oven from my son’s Boy Scout troop.